Weep Not, Nigerians

By Casmir Igbokwe

NEWSDAILYNIGERIA: Man’s struggle for freedom and justice has been as old as Creation. Albert Camus captures this absurdity in his philosophical essay, ‘The Myth of Sisyphus’. Here, Sisyphus is condemned to repeatedly roll a rock up a mountain. Just as the rock nears the top, it rolls down again and again. Ngugi wa Thiong’o, in his 1964 novel, ‘Weep Not, Child’, tells the story of the effects of the Mau Mau struggles and uprising against the white government in Kenya before that country’s independence. Mau Mau was an organization that fought for Kenyan political, economic and cultural independence. In ‘Cry, the Beloved Country’, Alan Paton paints the picture of social inequalities that would later give rise to apartheid in South Africa. And in ‘There Was a Country’, Chinua Achebe chronicles the ills of the country called Nigeria and the visionless leadership that it has suffered for years.

For instance, the late General Sani Abacha bestrode Nigeria like an emperor. He was brutal and unforgiven. Nigeria’s current President, Bola Tinubu, was among those who experienced his dictatorship. Some members of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) ate Abacha’s sour apples as well. Many journalists turned guerrillas and published in secret locations. Some paid the supreme sacrifice. So many other Nigerians became disillusioned with life. They prayed for a messiah. In June 1998, Abacha died mysteriously. Nigerians went against the grain to jubilate on hearing this news. 

The era of military dictatorship ended in 1999. General Abdulsalami Abubakar, who took over after Abacha’s death, midwifed the return to civilian rule. Since then, our democracy has been wobbling. But at no time have Nigerians gone through what they are going through today.

Almost everybody is lamenting. The purchasing power of many of us has greatly declined. Prices of goods and services have quadrupled. Hunger has become the companion of many of us. Ours has become a case of asking our father for bread, but receiving scorpion instead. Vice-President Kashim Shettima said President Tinubu enjoyed garri and groundnut, which was seen as a poor man’s food. Even this is no longer affordable. A bottle of groundnut is N2,500 and above. A ‘painter’ of garri is about N4,000. Is it beans? A ‘painter’ of this hitherto poor man’s food is N11,000 and above. Is it fuel, the main product of Nigeria? From about N185 a litre, the price jumped to over N600 the first day Tinubu assumed office as President. Last week, the price further jumped to about N897 a litre. And this is the official price. In many parts of the country, it is between N1,000 and N1,500 a litre.

Nigerians appear to be tired of complaining. Between August 1 and 10, 2024, there was a nationwide protest against hunger and bad governance. Reduction in the price of fuel was one of the demands of the protesters. Ironically, rather than reduce the price, the government further increased it. Sorry, government said it knew nothing about the price increase. It was the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) Retail Management that reportedly did so. This same NNPCL told us it made profit running into trillions of Naira. We clapped. But in the heat of the lamentations over the recent increase, the same NNPCL said it was owing suppliers to the tune of about $6billion. Deceit! Incompetence! Transparency deficit!

The other day, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) warned traders allegedly involved in exploitative pricing to crash the prices of their goods within one month or face dire consequences. I laughed. Traders should reduce their prices but NNPCL can increase the price of fuel which has a spiral effect on the prices of other commodities.

If only they could leave Nigerians alone. Acute hunger drove people to protest. The police exhibited their firing power by killing some of these protesters. They arrested many of them and have charged them with treason. 

Somehow, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) appears to be a stumbling block to the bid by the powers that be to achieve their desires. Pronto, the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, became a suspect for terrorism financing. The police invited him, he went and was lucky to be released afterwards. They have invited him again, apparently still looking for a way to nail him. The police are also looking for a Briton called Andrew Wynne, and a Nigerian known as Lucky Obiyan. They said Wynne had built a network of sleeper cells to overthrow the government and cause chaos in the country. The man might have had a good laugh. He spoke from the United Kingdom, saying protest was not terrorism. The scenario is still unfolding. We await the climax, or anti-climax as the case may be.

Another ‘terrorist’ to watch is David Hundeyin. He is a young, investigative journalist who has been a torn in the flesh of this government. Last week, the police declared him an accomplice in the trial of whistleblower, Isaac Tamunobifiri also known as PIDOM. Last Tuesday, the police brought nine counts against PIDOM. They include alleged money laundering, cybercrime, sedition, tax evasion and disseminating classified secret documents. As bemused Hundeyin put it, “Getting hold of David Hundeyin is one of the most important security priorities of the Nigerian establishment. It doesn’t matter that you have terrorists flaunting ransom on TikTok.”

Somehow, another investigative journalist, Adejuwon Soyinka, was placed on the watchlist of the Department of State Services (DSS) purportedly on the request of a government agency. The DSS arrested him at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos shortly after arriving from London on August 25. They seized his passport. Later, they released it, saying his arrest was a case of possible mistaken identity. Pity!

This same DSS is fond of coming up with tales of plots to destabilise the country or overthrow government whenever there is tension in the country. It will raise the alarm, but when you now wait to hear details of arrests and prosecution of the plotters, the story fizzles out.

This is hoping that the planned nationwide protests in October will not be seen as another plot to overthrow the government. The organisers called it ‘Fearless in October Protests’. What the DSS or the police will do this time still wears a hat. Will they sharpen their weapons for more killings, or release some repentant Boko Haram terrorists to create space in the cells for protesters and journalists who may soon be arrested?

Whatever happens, we must brace up for the worst. You cannot mercilessly beat a child and also stop him from crying. Liberation struggles are not a la carte. It took South Africans decades of struggles to eliminate apartheid. The same thing with African Americans. 

It is pertinent to note that good governance is about ensuring the security and welfare of the citizens. Any government that cannot provide this has failed. Nigerians have no security. They are being killed by sundry terrorists and criminals on a daily basis. A recent report by the Observatory of Religious Freedom in Africa (ORFA) has it that in four years, over 55,000 people have been killed and 21,000 abducted in Nigeria.

No doubt, our successive leaders have failed us. This particular government appears to be the worst. We do not have weapons. We do not have other instruments of coercion. What we have is the freedom to cry and tell the world that we are dying. That is what they want to take away from us as well. Will they succeed? History says they won’t. Njoroge, the lead character in ‘Weep Not, Child’, loses almost all that he cherishes – family, education, faith in God. He becomes depressed and waits for darkness to come so he can hang himself. But, just in the nick of time, his mother comes in search of him. She sees him and brings him home, thus averting the suicide. Weep not, Nigerians! Our mother is desperately searching for us. I believe she will soon find us and bring us home!

•Also published in the Daily Sun of Monday, September 9, 2024